As if by Chance

David Lan's evocative, fast-paced memoir takes us all over the globe, introducing us to an extraordinary cast of characters, places and experiences both on stage and off.

A family day at the beach. There’s a song, an argument, a dash across the white sand and into the high rolling waves. We’re in Cape Town and David Lan is ten years old.

Cut to 1969 and, visiting London fresh out of high school, he interviews theatre luminaries Sybil Thorndike, Tom Stoppard, Trevor Nunn, Paul Schofield ...